I'm sorry if you follow me on Pinterest and are not a teacher of fifth grade students...

Just some things I'm pinning on my Friends In Fifth Pinterest Board right now...

"I Love My Classroom" wrote a post about this hall pass system. My favorite part of the post is her comments about how she had to talk with students about where to clip the clothespin (not on the front hem of their shirts). 

This pin didn't take me to any website, so if anyone would like to take credit for this idea please let me know. Continuing with the clothespin theme, this is a way for students to keep the classroom library somewhat organized. They clip a clothespin with their name/number onto a book basket to help them remember where to re-shelve when they are finished with their book. 

What a great mental math activity for students to use during math practice. This is cheap, easy to make, and can be differentiated for any problem type. Thank you Confessions of a Teaching Junkie!

  

Flocking to Fifth wrote a post about classroom management and gave Class Dojo a thumbs up. I'm leaning more and more towards using this as a part of my classroom management plan. I would like there to be rewards for students to earn when they reach a certain number of points. Any ideas for rewards? My first idea was when they reach a certain number of points (maybe 15?) they get to pick their Class Dojo avatar. 

 

Hannah 

A New Start

This is my first year teaching, my first year in 5th grade, and my first year in my new town. Advice I have been given from veteran teachers and professors has been to keep a journal this year noting what works, what didn't work, and what I would change for next year. Although I am not too graphically inclined, I do love technology. Blogging seems like a natural fit for journaling my successes and failures as a first year teacher. So without further ado, my first post.

I am already slightly panicking about August 14th, and it's only July 2nd. Here is the ticker tape going through my mind: What am I going to teach? How am I going to make my room colorful and cute when I am starting from absolute scratch? How am I going to manage 26 students? What should I emphasize the first few days??

I have an undergraduate degree in elementary education and a Master's degree in Educational Technology. I am an educated, smart, resourceful person (sometimes), but I don't feel prepared to take on the responsibility for these young people. I can't imagine what it feels like for new parents. My student teaching was two years ago, thanks to my Master's intermission, so I feel a little rusty. I have met my teaching partner, and I am so excited to work with her. In an effort to untangle my thoughts here is a to-do list of some things I am thinking about for my new classroom.

1. Finish reading and implementing "Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids" by Chris Biffle
2. Making birthday pencils using this idea and a birthday bulletin board like this with my Dollar Tree month cut-outs. 
3. Filling in more of my Curriculum Planning Guide I downloaded from Traci Clausen's TeachersPayTeachers store. 
4. Sort through and organize my classroom library. Buy book bins and create labels for each author/genre. Buy a cheap bookshelf, a lamp, and fun seating for my classroom library. 
5. Decide how I want to organize reading instruction. I'm thinking I might try the Daily 5 that seems so popular now. I have seen several teachers' upper grade blogs who have adapted it to their classrooms. I really like the choice that it brings to the classroom. Maybe a trip to Barnes and Noble today to see if they carry Gail Boushey's books? 

There is definitely more in my brain, but I think that's a good place to stop for today. I am in the process of making a Lakeshore purchase list too. There is A LOT on it already. I will post that list when I have it focused a little more. 

Hannah